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<div class="gmail_quote"><div style="text-align:left">Please considering attending this important event about the future of broadband in our community. - Danielle</div><div style="text-align:left"><i><b><br></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align:center"><i><b>Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center presents</b>:</i></div><div style="text-align:center">
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div><div style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:large"><font face="'arial black', sans-serif"><font color="#3333FF">Models for Building Local Broadband:</font></font></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:large"><font face="'arial black', sans-serif"><font color="#3333FF">Public, Private, Coop, Nonprofit</font></font></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align:center"><font face="'arial black', sans-serif">Wed, Sept. 19th - 4:30pm EST</font></div><div style="text-align:center"><font face="'arial black', sans-serif">Urbana City Hall - 400 S. Vine St.</font></div>
<div style="text-align:center"><font face="'arial black', sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial"><b><font face="'arial black', sans-serif"><a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ucimc" target="_blank">Watch and chat questions live</a></font></b></span></font></div>
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<u>Presenters:</u><b><br><a href="http://www.ilsr.org/about-the-institute-for-local-self-reliance/staff-and-board/christopher-mitchell/" target="_blank">Chris Mitchell</a>,</b> Institute for Local Self Reliance (expert in municipal broadband)<br>
<a href="http://newamerica.net/user/385" target="_blank"><b>Greta Byrum</b></a>, Open Technology Institute (field analyst in broadband)<br><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;border-collapse:collapse;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><b><a href="http://www.ctcnet.us/who-we-are.html" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Joanne Hovis</a>,</b> CTC Technology & Energy </span>(public interest telecom expert)<br>
<a href="http://main.nc.us/about/wally_bowen.shtml" target="_blank"><b>Wally Bowen</b></a>, Mountain Area Information Network (non-profit internet provider)<br><b>Brandon Bowersox-Johnson</b> (Facilitator) <b>- </b>Chair, UC2B Policy Committee, City Council Member, Urbana IMC member
</blockquote><div><br></div><div>Urbana-Champaign in Illinois is completing construction of a public system - called <a href="http://uc2b.net/" target="_blank">UC2B</a> - that will connect 10% of the community with fast broadband they can use to access the internet, share videos, make phone calls and more. The project was made possible by federal funds.</div>
<div><br></div><div style="text-align:center"><b>How do we connect the other 90% of our community to fast broadband? </b></div><div style="text-align:center"><b></b><b>With what funds? Who will control it? </b></div><div style="text-align:center">
<b>How can these models support digital inclusion for minority and low income users?</b></div><div style="text-align:center"><br></div><div>Urbana IMC has gathered some of the top experts in the field of community broadband to join in a discussion of these questions. During this forum, which will be webcast nationally, we will explore public, public-private, non profit, and cooperative models for building out broadband. </div>
<div><br></div><div>We will discuss the benefits and challenges of each model to inform our community's upcoming decision about building out the rest of the UC2B network. Champaign-Urbana recently applied to build out the network with Gigabit Squared in a public-private partnership where the network is owned by a private company and the public sets the terms of use. The community is also exploring municipal and co-op models and has a <a href="http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2012-08-17/big-broadband-seeking-information-building-out-network.html" target="_blank">request for proposals</a> to seek other partners and solutions.</div>
<div><br></div><span><font color="#888888"><div><font color="#000000">For more information contact: Danielle Chynoweth, UCIMC board member, at <a href="mailto:chyn@ucimc.org" target="_blank">chyn@ucimc.org</a>.</font></div>
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</span></font></i></span></font></div><div><span><span><font color="#888888"></font></span><font color="#888888"></font></span><font color="#888888"></font>-----</div><div><font color="#666666"><a href="http://www.ucimc.org/" target="_blank">The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center</a></font><span style="color:rgb(102,102,102);font-family:Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:16px"> uses media production and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice. UCIMC provided intensive support for our community's successful bid for federal broadband funds is a anchor in the <a href="http://www.mag-net.org/" target="_blank">Media Action Grassroots Network</a> (MAGNet).</span></div>
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